PRESS RELEASE | JUNE 2012

PCH’s new Accelerator client, littleBits, secures new Series A funding

PCH International is delighted to announce a major partnership with littleBits, the electronic building blocks company that is revolutionizing how children and adults interact with electronics.

As part of the PCH Accelerator program, PCH will begin producing littleBits from August 2012. PCH Accelerator assists start-ups, rapidly and efficiently developing their hardware product concepts to commercial readiness. As littleBits‘ production partner, PCH International will help the company in scaling manufacturing, supply chain and logistics.

Liam Casey, CEO and Founder of PCH International commented: “Ayah, the founder of littleBits, has the vision and ability to take the company global and make it a household name. We work with companies that are passionate about design, passionate about their brand and about the consumer experience. We are proud to partner with littleBits and help them get to the next phase of their fast growth trajectory.”

littleBits also announced US$3.65 million in a Series A round of funding led by some of the biggest names in tech and open source hardware including True Ventures, Khosla Ventures, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Lerer Ventures. Previously, in September of 2011, littleBits raised a seed round led by MIT Media Lab’s Joi Ito, that included prominent angel investors Nicholas Negroponte and Joanne Wilson among others.

littleBits is a system of modular hardware that snap together with magnets, enabling anyone to make interactive objects like race cars, dragons and interactive Mother’s Day cards without any background in engineering, programming or wiring. With the company’s flagship product, the 10-piece Starter Kit (US$89), users can build simple electronics in seconds.

“We spend more than 7 hours with technological devices every day, yet most of us don’t know how they work, or how to make our own. By playing and creating with littleBits, people can quickly and deeply grasp the science behind simple machines. We want littleBits to be an affordable educational tool that is used in schools everywhere. Our new funding and relationship with PCH means that we can now grab the momentum, build a team of superstars and reach even more people around the world.”

Ayah Bdeir, founder and CEO of littleBits

Since debuting in September 2011, littleBits has created and released over 30 new products on the market. The company has been overrun with demand and has sold to parents, artists, designers, developers, schools, universities and many others in countries including the US, Canada, India, Japan, the UK, Australia, Mexico and Chile.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has acquired littleBits for its permanent collection, and Popular Science named littleBits Best of Toyfair 2012. In February, CEO Ayah was recognized by the TED Conference as a fellow and gave a talk, available at TED.com, about littleBits and the future of science innovation.

“A truly creative society is an open one,” said MIT Media Lab Director and Creative Commons Chairman JoiIto who played an integral role in the development of open source as a movement. “littleBits gives people the tools and the power to create and innovate for themselves, and this learning-by-doing approach empowers more people to access, invent and play with electronics.”